


Big Bad

by Written Daydream (Timmy_sempai)



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2015-03-21
Packaged: 2018-04-08 22:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4322322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Timmy_sempai/pseuds/Written%20Daydream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A modern day Little Red Riding Hood with a twist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Big Bad

        All my life I have loved dogs. Although, I never could have one of my own. Growing up in a small apartment didn't allow me that one simple joy. So, when I went off to college, I got a job at an animal shelter. Specifically working with dogs. I would feed the dogs, take them for walks, and clean out their cages. Believe it or not, but this was my dream.  
        One day, a man brought in a snarling grey Akita dog. This dog was somewhat large and had big brown eyes. He was absolutely beautiful, but he was mean. He would snap and growl at anyone who tried to get near him, so we had to have the man, who brought him in, take him back to one of the cages. After the cage had been shut and locked, we all looked at each other and sighed. It was going to take all we had to work with that one.  
        The next few days with Big Bad, as we had come to call that wild dog, were interesting, to say the least. He would back into one of the far corners whenever someone brought him food, and he would growl if any of us tried to get near him. After a while he started to look rough. His fur was greasy and matted, and we could see his ribs sticking out through his skin. We tried everything we could, yet he still refused to eat. At this rate, he was going to die on us, and we certainly didn't want that to happen.  
        Before I knew it, my birthday had arrived. My family did the same thing that they did for me every year. Everyone came over to my parents' house, where we would eat cake and I would open presents. I usually only got cheap gifts, like socks or some candy off the discount shelf, but this particular birthday, my grandma had gotten me a bright red sweatshirt. Coming from a pretty poor family, that had meant a lot to me. I had immediately put it on and only took it off when I went to sleep that night. Little did I know, that sweatshirt would mean even more to me than it already did.  
        I went back to work and, because I wore the sweatshirt my grandmother had given me so much, everyone took to calling me Little Red. Today, it was my turn to take care of Big Bad. The others teased me, saying I should watch out for the Big Bad wolf and other stuff like that. I just rolled my eyes at them and went to do my job. I opened the gate to Big Bad's cage, expecting to hear the usual warning growl, but this time, surprisingly, there were no growls. I looked over to where Big Bad was sitting in the corner, only to find him staring right at me. This was certainly something new. I broke eye contact and grabbed his food bowl to fill up with fresh food. I started to walk out to where we kept the food and stopped when I heard nails lightly scratching the floor. I turned to find Big Bad standing closer than he's ever been to me. I blinked in surprise; this was the first time he's moved out of that corner. I slowly turned back around and went to get his food. I came back to find him sitting in the doorway, patiently waiting for me to come back. Again, I blinked in surprise. I set his food bowl down where it was before, and looked at Big Bad, who had followed me over. He looked at the bowl of food, then he looked at me, so I decided to try something. I took a small handful of food and held it out to him. Sure enough, he came over and, after sniffing the food and my hand, started to eat the food. After he had eaten what was in my hand, he went over to the bowl and started to eat from that. The lock on the gate clicked as I shut it, and Big Bad briefly glanced over at me, then continued to eat. I immediately ran to tell the others of this major development.  
        They didn't believe me. They said there was no way that dog would ever let anyone near; not in a million years. I was determined to prove them wrong, so I led them all to his cage. He had gone back to sitting in the corner, although this time he wasn't growling at anyone. The others looked perplexed, while I simply smirked. I guess this wasn't enough to completely dispel their doubts, however. One of them decided to take a step toward Big Bad, and when she did, he growled at her. She stepped back and gestured for me to step forward, I complied. As soon as I stepped forward, he stopped growling. He looked up at me expectantly, so I took this as a sign and slowly reached my hand down, stopping just in front of his face. I could feel the tension in the room rise as Big Bad took his time to sniff my hand. Slowly, he nudged my hand with his nose, indicating that it was okay for me to pet him. So I did. I started out by scratching the top of his head and behind his ears, eventually moving to his back and sides. He seemed to like it very much, because his tail was wagging. I eventually sat down on the floor with Big Bad right in my face, and rubbed his belly. He stood back up and licked my nose, then the rest of my face, to show his appreciation for the belly rubs. I laughed at his enthusiastic gesture and glanced at the other workers still standing in the doorway. I could tell they were shocked and knew I had won.  
        The next couple of days went by kind of fast. I noticed that whenever I didn't wear the red hoodie, which wasn't very often, Big Bad would become somewhat distant from me. I guess he liked the color red or something, although I didn't think dogs could see certain colors, so I wasn't entirely sure. Despite the few times progress seemed to completely halt, Big Bad and I grew closer than ever. Over time, he even started to warm up to the other workers, but when given a choice, he would always choose me over them. He started eating more, so he was becoming stronger, and his coat became prettier than ever before. He truly was a beautiful creature, and in a way, I had fallen in love with him. Not the kind of love that you would see between lovers, but the kind of love you see between the closest of friends.  
        Months passed by, Big Bad remained at the shelter and I went through my final year of college. I was so excited. I couldn't wait to show Big Bad my diploma, and I had a little surprise in store for him too. Graduation dragged on, and finally they called my name. I walked up to the podium and received my diploma, then sat back down in my seat to wait out the rest of the long ceremony. When it was over, I gave everyone who had come to support me a quick hug, then dashed off to my car. I sped over to the shelter and ran inside. I stopped and gasped at the sight before me. There, sitting nicely in front of the front desk, was Big Bad with a great big red bow tied around his neck. As soon as he saw me, he stood up and ran over to me, with a slight jingling sound. I removed the bow to see a dark red collar, and on the tag was the name Big Bad followed by...my address. I looked up at my smiling coworkers. How did they know I was planning on adopting Big Bad?  
        Tears formed in my eyes as I hugged Big Bad, who, in the end, wasn't so bad at all. He just needed someone to take the time to care for him, who knew that someone was going to be me? I certainly didn't.


End file.
